The Zennist

Closer to being a true religion

Westerners tend to identify religion with having a belief in God.  Rites and rituals also play an important part.  Nevertheless, rites and rituals do not make a religion religious.  To be religious means personally relating to or contemplating the nature of ultimate reality. 

The modern definition of religion, in general, is too limiting and too restrictive.  I would go so far as to say that most modern day religions are not all that religious.

A truer understanding of what real religion means for us begins with existential questioning.  Existential questioning always concerns the first-person, for example, Who am I (essentially)? Or it can be something like, What is my purpose in life? or What is my true self, or What happens when I die?

At first these questions seem to get nowhere beyond the question, itself, until the individual turns to religion which then becomes, God knows the answer to my questions — believe in God.  But this is still far too superficial.  Serious and deep existential questioning is lacking.   

But Buddhism and more specifically, Zen Buddhism, are closer to being a true religion.  First, they acknowledge the great value of existential questioning.  Such questioning finds both meaning and answers in personal enlightenment.  This means that a person realizes nirvana in their innermost self after going through a difficult process that strips away the self-limiting fictions and beliefs that make personal enlightenment seem impossible.  As for what they personally realize it is deathless, peace, truth, the ultimate goal, endless, etc.  These are all epithets for nirvana.

The mind that is awakened (bodhi)

Bodhicitta in the Sanskrit refers to the mind (citta) that is awakened (bodhi) which is the basic goal of Zen and of Buddhism in general.  Seeing this mind is no easy task since we are always deluding ourselves into believing that our everyday mind can easily converge with this bodhi mind.  Well, the truth of the matter is that it cannot.

Another way of looking at bodhi mind, which one day we hope to awaken to, is to think of it as our natural mind which is inborn and timeless but more, importantly, has never left us. 

Unfortunately, it is only revealed to us when we set aside all mental activity 無念 at once.  It alone remains even in the face of death.  It is also what Bodhisattvas samadhi.  The more they go to it as Bodhisattvas the more they grow into Buddhas. 

In reaching this goal, the individual has to first accept the hard fact that they are not there yet, even though they would like to believe that they are getting close.  They first have to train to become open to the unknown and the unexpected which is a way the mind that is bodhi comes to us.  To prejudge what the mind of bodhi is, is to make a huge barrier.  One has to be like a farmer.  He can only do so much such as planting the seeds.  The rain will come on its own.

Zen requires an intuitionist

When we go in search of a teacher we make a lot of assumptions about ourself that we are unaware of.  One such assumption is that we are smart enough to understand Zen Buddhism.  But the question we should ask ourself, is it true that we are smart enough?  What if we are not?  What if Zen works only for those who have an intuitive mind and doesn’t work for those with analytical minds?

Let’s be honest.  Zen requires an intuitionist, that is, a person who can see the forest for the trees, so to speak; who also understands the context of what is said and done rather than to straightaway abstract and deconstruct what is before it, blind as to the inherent context being deconstructed. 

The belief  that we can read and understand Zen Buddhism by, first, blindly wresting it out of its ancient hidden context so as to deconstruct it; then reconstruct it in a way that we would like to understand it, is an absurd methodology to say the least.  But I dare say, this is where we are today.

To put it bluntly, the analyzers—not the intuitionists—have hijacked Zen and may have ruined it.  They fail to see that Zen calls for intuitional problem solving skills not analytical problem solving skills which begin by a process of fracturing and fragmenting the text before it, which then becomes textual rubble.  But by doing this, the analyzers have not advance one inch closer to the mysterious context of Zen. 

This is just the opposite of the intuitive approach which first has to get the adept out of their analyzer mentality.  The intuitive approach of Zen first tackles the koan by getting the adept to first intuit, directly, their true nature which underpins the mysterious context of Zen that every beginner faces.  The beginner first encounters this when they read different koans.  While every koan seems different, they are essentially the same.  In successfully intuiting the koan, the adept intuits what the Buddha and the Zen masters intuited.  This is not the end of Zen but the beginning.  It is sudden enlightenment 頓悟 followed by “long cultivation of the sacred embryo” (shōtai chōyō 聖胎長養).

 The target of the intuiting process, that every koan contains, is known by the term huatou 話頭 which is the adept’s mind before a single thought arises.  Other names for the huatou  are “the real substance of the universe” or the “first principle.”  Speaking of intuitional problem solving skills which are non-analytical, Zen master Dahui said:

"If you want to take the direct-and-quick path to comprehension, you must obtain the explosive shattering of this single thought—then you will bring samsara to an end. That’s called “awakening.” But you absolutely must not maintain your mind in a state of waiting for this shattering. If you maintain your mind in the state of [waiting for] shattering, then the time of shattering will never come in an eternity of aeons. Just take the mind of false thought and upside-down viewpoints, the mind of reflection and discrimination, the mind that loves living and hates death, the mind of knowing-seeing and understanding, the mind that takes joy in stillness and loathes noisiness— and all-at-once lay them aside! Precisely in the state where you have laid them aside, keep an eye on the huatou: A monk asked Zhaozhou: “Does even a dog have buddha-nature?” Zhou said: “Wu 無.” This one word [Wu 無] is a weapon to dampen down a lot of bad knowing and bad awareness" (The Letters of Chan Master Dahui Pujue by Jeffrey Broughton).

What is being shattered is the adept’s use of their analytical problem solving skills which has pinned its hopes on deciphering the single thought/word of Wu (J., Mu).  What the adept does not realize is this, if this single thought/word is shattered the awakening occurs.  As a result of this shattering, the adept sees face-to-face their true nature which is also the state of nirvana and the huatou.  Again, this relies on intuitive skills not analytical skills.

 

A sense of self in Buddhism

The sense of others which evokes empathy and altruism in us depends upon our sense of self as if to think, “This  person is just like me.”  Somewhat related, the infant’s social development takes place independently of language development.  This social development is the development of a sense of self when, for example, the infant plays with their parents or siblings or some other person.

So, is a sense of self important in Buddhism?  Yes it is.  There would be no compassion without a sense of self in which the other of us (this person over there) is empathized with.  This takes me to an argument that I often make. 

The Buddha never denied the self or even the sense of self.  He was mainly concerned with misidentification.  What do I mean by this?  He was concerned that we mistake as our self something that is not our self, this being the five skandhas or in Pali, the five khandhas, namely, corporeality, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, which are illusory.  Let me say it again.  The Buddha didn’t want us to identify with the corporeal body as being our true self.  Why? Because it is impermanent.  Why would our self or sense of self be something that is so fragile being always subject to change, sickness and destruction?  The same goes with the rest of the skandhas.

The world of compassion can only arise from our own sense of self in which we see others to be like us evoking our empathy.  At a deeper level, the Buddha’s compassion is directed to the higher self which we cannot yet see, which transcends birth and death, but more importantly, transcends the skandhas which ordinary beings mistake to be their primary self.

The Buddha knows that our higher self has to be saved.  It is mixed up with the false self that is associated with the skandhas.  The Buddha wants us to abandon our identification with this false self.  Only then will the true self be recognized which is the Buddha, i.e., the awakened self whose compassion extends to all, teaching the higher self which in Pali and Sanskrit is nātha meaning the protector or lord.  This term comes from the Dhammapada.

"The self is protector [nātha] of the self—who else might be the protector? With the self well subdued a man finds a protector who is difficult to obtain" (160).

We are far away from climbing this Zen mountain

People that I have discussed Zen with seem at times almost crazy when it comes to the matter of realizing their true nature which is one of the four Zen slogans.  They think that understanding what their true nature is, or finding a synonym for it is the same as directly intuiting their true nature.  Some even believe they’ve already realized their true nature.  But this is really the work of imagination.

But understanding what our true nature is and its actual attainment by way of direct intuition are worlds apart. 

It is the difference between wanting to climb a mountain like Denali in Alaska in the coming year and actually climbing it.  First of all, to climb such a mountain like Denali we have to acquire some proficiency in mountaineering skills which is not easy and will take some time.  This means that we will have to go on some kind of prep course given by the people who are operating this expedition.  And we had better be in top physical shape. 

Playing video games, not exercising, buying a book or two on mountaineering, even buying an ice axe to impress our buddies, will not prepare us for the long climb to the summit of Denali.  All that we have demonstrated is that we are capable of reading one or two books on mountaineering.  Let’s face it, we have no intention of actually climbing Denali.  We lead our life at a superficial level. 

Yes, we can have an understanding of what it is like to begin Zen and, eventually, try to see our true nature.  But we are far away from climbing this Zen mountain.  We have only a vague understanding of what our true nature is.

Even those who sit in zazen have only a shallow understanding of Zen.  They know a lot of details.  Still, they are far away from intuition which, by the way, sitting on a cushion doesn’t develop.  And intuition is what Zen is all about, not sitting.  The answer to a koan is not gained by sitting.  The answer only comes by way of intuition.  This fact is little stressed in the actual practice of Zen today because 99% of Zen teachers today follow Soto Zen which doesn’t believe in seeing your true nature.  It is unfortunate that this tradition of Zen dominates.  It doesn't even resonate with Buddhism.

 

What it takes to attain Zen's great mystery

Among other things, a personality suited for Zen is one that is never easily disappointed or depressed; that in the face of countless ups and downs it still manages to have a great deal of respect and gratitude toward the teachings of the Buddha and the Zen masters.  It is also a heaven soaring personality whose faith in the Buddha's teachings never diminishes.

On your journey to intuit your true nature, you will have lots of fake enlightenments—too many to count.  It’s somewhat like getting excited at finding gold but only to discover later that you’ve only found fool’s gold (iron pyrite).  If you’ve seen only fool’s gold and not real gold it will be difficult for you to let go of your belief even though you worked many months or maybe years to find this fool’s gold.  But you have to let go of it.  You are far from finding El Dorado.  In some of the Buddha’s discourses he teaches that there are ten false enlightenments for each one of the five constituents (skandha) making a total of fifty false enlightenments!

Most important, a personality suited for Zen must have a strong inclination towards intuition where the new is discovered or where a great breakthrough is made which might at first seemed impossible.  Zen’s method is not through the analysis of the various parts or their possible connection with each other as if trying to construct an accurate picture of Zen’s mystery.  In fact, the parts have very little to do with the kind of intuition that Zen demands. 

What Zen hides—its great mystery—you must intuit.  There is no other way to comprehend Zen.  Intuition, is like looking at an out of focus picture such that you want to know what it is.  Sometimes you can almost make out what the picture is, but still you are unable to recognize it.  At other times, it almost seems that the more you look at this out of focus picture it becomes even more blurry!  After many years of looking at this out of focus picture, one day, without thinking about it, you see what the picture is. You know now what all the strange sections are part of, whereas before you didn't.  It’s so easy to see what the picture is even though others can't.  With directly intuiting your true nature, the teachings of Buddhism and Zen make perfect sense whereas before they didn't.

Zen’s real goal seems to have been banned

Today’s Zen and Zen institutions have either consciously or unconsciously decided to adapt to the ways of the world so that Zen is supposed to teach us how to get along with people that we either don’t like very much such as a co-worker, or people we dislike for no apparent reason.  It’s also supposed to help us handle our everyday tensions and depression owing, in some cases, to deep-seated resentment that we can’t seem to let go of.  Oh, I almost forgot, Zen is supposed to help us to curtail our desires and addictions. 

Do you see what is happening?  To be frank with you, none of this is what Zen is supposed to do!  A real Zennist is supposed to have all of their ducks in a row before they undertake the upward climb of Zen's path.  Zen requires a person who is tough yet humble and open to radical change—not some crybaby who can’t let go of their toys. 

Yes, it’s typical to want some help.  But in Zen we are pretty much on our own.  Think about it, it’s our responsibility—not our teacher’s—to raise ourself up by our own bootstraps.  Without a love for this arduous, mysterious path we will eventually falter.  Wanting to learn the heart of Zen whereby we see our true nature should be foremost on our mind.  Everything else is secondary.

In the story of the Buddha, remember that Siddhartha took up dhyana only after he had practiced difficult and painful austerities even attaining the meditation called “asphanaka” in which he cut off inhalation and exhalation, a meditation that is connected with the ether (akasha).  When Zen adapts to the ways of the world it turns into something akin to an outpatient clinic for the mentally disturbed.  Zen on this level is really making a concession to worldly values and worldly people who could not care less about Zen’s real goal whereby we see our true nature and come to realize Zen's secret.  As odd as it sounds, Zen’s real goal seems to have been banned!

The teachings of the 1926 Maytag Buddha in appliance world

In appliance world there were many kinds of different machines from vacuum cleaners, toasters, hair dryers to washing machines. 

One day some young washing machines happened to come upon an old Buddhist washing machine. He was a 1926 Maytag.  He could still do the job of any young washing machine.  But there was something about this old washing machine that despite its age seemed timeless and had a certain flair that seemed unusual and unaffected by the years.

The young washing machines, attached to their youth had, as we might expect, a certain arrogance about them as is natural with all youth; who hadn’t really accomplished anything of worth and knew even less about themselves.

Still, they managed to be polite to the old Maytag, after all he was a venerated Maytag who many appliances said was fully awakened and knew the very essence of an appliance—what made them run.  After an exchange of polite words and the customary greetings expected between washing machines one of the young washing machines asked the old Maytag if it was true that he knew of the universal essence of all appliances.  The old Maytag quietly nodded and said that he did.

“But what could this universal essence be?” inquired the young washing machine somewhat seriously.  “We all know the parts we were made from.  We have an outer frame which contains all the parts such as a water pump, transmission and motor, the agitator, tub and various kinds of controls.  This is all we are sir.”

The old Maytag looked at all the young machines. Then in a jovial voice he said, “Relax friends and listen to my words.  Although you are much younger than I, your parts very new and made with plastics that are quite light as compared with what this old machine is made from, in the example of the agitator, there is something ageless within us that suffers no change whatsoever.  Of course you can’t see it.  You only know the parts of the washing machine such as the spin pulley and the water supply hoses.  But as for what makes this odd contraption work and gives the motor its power, you do not know.  But this is what I know.”

The young washing machines didn’t know whether to laugh or to take this old Maytag seriously. They were stuck in between you could say.  Then the old Maytag sensing their unease said something strange they never heard before.  “Have you ever heard of electricity?”

All of the machines remained quiet except for one who said that he had not heard of electricity before.

“Listen carefully my young friends,” said the old Maytag.  “We are all fundamentally electrical machines.  This electricity is the power that runs our motor and makes the agitator swish back and forth.  It is ageless, you could say, and undying too.  It never grows old in other words.  It is all around us.  Even our sun is electrical.  Some call it energy some call it a force, but these are just names.  Electricity is fundamentally one thousand, billion, billion, billion, billion times more powerful than gravity.”

The young washing machines were dumbstruck.  What could they say? They knew nothing about this mysterious power that made them work and made them useful.  With their new knowledge, they bowed in respect to the old Maytag and asked if they could become his disciples.  He nodded indicating that they could.

Stuck in the house of mirrors: a world gone dark

I found myself this morning humming a Beatles’ song, “Eleanor Rigby” trying to recall the lyrics. For me is like stepping into a time machine.  This period in my life was before I set off on my enlightenment quest to eventually sit in meditation in an abounded copper mine searching for pure Mind, which at the time I believed was possible to attain.

This is only a guess on my part based on what I have seen on social media and elsewhere, but this age has gone dark.  It seems to have lost or sold its soul having exchanged it for a maze-like house of mirrors in which images of the false self dominate but not a single image in this house is who any of us really is.

These images are, in fact, obstacles which make up the house of mirrors not unlike the one found in the 1928 Charlie Chaplin movie, The Circus, when Chaplin is chased into the ‘Mirror Maze’ by a thief then a policeman.

Looking at our self in a mirror is the first loss of one’s path to the authentic self which, by the way, is imageless.  Next, add to this the house of mirrors where now our image can be stored electronically—a fixed mirror at a particular time.  I am the young teenager. I am now the aspiring college student. Now I am married.  Here is our first child.  So many images and not one is our true self.  But who is the real self?

This reminds me somewhat of Mumon’s comment to the koan, Zuigan Calls His Own Master.

Old Zuigan sells out and buys himself. He is opening a puppet show. He uses one mask to call "Master" and another that answers the master. Another mask says "Sober up" and another, "Do not be cheated by others." If anyone clings to any of his masks, he is mistaken, yet if he imitates Zuigan, he will make himself fox-like.

Mumon could also be saying, “If anyone clings to any of these images, he is mistaken.”  There is, of course, a right answer to this koan.  It is eternal and invariant and most certainly unconditioned.  But it never appears the way an image does in the example of this corporeal body from birth to old-age and death.  Fa-Yung  Niutou Farong (594-657) said: 

“The Ultimate Essence of things is what is most important. But in the realm of illusion it becomes different from what it is. The nature of Reality is invisible and cannot be understood by our conscious mind.”

Unmasking atheism: what it really is

What is atheism?  The simple answer comes from my dictionary:  a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods.  More, specifically, “god” in this definition should be thought of as a “creator god.” 

In Buddhism the idea of a creator god is rejected.  How the world comes into being is treated much differently in Buddhism and for that reason it is difficult to understand for those who have been brought up believing in a creator god. 

But today atheism goes much farther insofar as there is a sinister side to it that needs to be unmasked.  What I mean by this, is that atheism in the modern sense really refers to someone who is anti-religious; someone who rejects any kind of ultimate reality such as described in Buddhism.  This could be the state of nirvana which is immortal and unconditioned.  Another example is the One Mind which is very important in Zen.  In his book, The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature, Mario Poceski informs the reader that,

“One Mind is a concept that appears in a number of canonical texts, such as the Huayan Scripture [華嚴經]—there are no fewer than forty-two references to it in Śikṣānanda’s translation of the scripture—the Laṅkāvatāra Scripture […] The notion of One Mind points to the absolute nature of the mind, which is equated with ultimate reality. It is also envisaged as the essential source of all things or phenomena in the universe.”

Over the years, this anti-religious sentiment has been carefully inserted into the academic world by way of postmodernism which is an attempt to salvage Marxism which I have noticed has no sense of the transcendent which  I take to mean that we are greater than the sum of our biological parts.  The Marxist view of man is not unlike that of Thomas Hobbes who saw mankind doomed to a life that is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.  There is nothing after that—and worse, we could fall into Nietzsche's nihilistic "eternal return" which is inescapable rebirth.  

Another name for this anti-religious sentiment is secularism which insists that religious considerations—and that includes the transcendent—should be ignored if not purposely suppressed.  Have we come to this in Buddhism?  I think modern, popular Buddhism is moving in this direction.  But for every such movement there is an equal attempt to counter to this.  We should join this side.